Piano action



J L NOLL PIANO ACTION.

(-No Model.)

M. PHUTO-LFTHQWASHINGTOR DC,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. NOLL, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO SOHMER & (10., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANO-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,813, dated October 29, 189 5. Application filed June 25, 1895. Serial No. 554,004. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. NOLL, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved action for grand pianos, by which a quick repetition is imparted to the hammer and the construction considerably simplified by the introduction of a pivoted jack-rest on the repetition-lever and a single regulating-spring for the jack and jack-rest.

The invention consists of a grand-piano action, which comprises a fulcrum repetitionlever, a jack-rest pivoted to said repetitionlever, a regulating-screw for said jack-rest, a jack acting on said repetition-lever, a regulating-screw on said jack, and a single regulating-spring applied to a fixed post and acting by one arm on the jack-rest and by the other on the jack.

The invention consists, further, of the special construction of the jack-rest, which is provided with a stirrup in its recessed front end, to which the upper arm of the regulatingspring is applied, as will be fully described hereinafter, and finally pointed out in the.

claims.

In the. accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved grandpiano action, partly in section, through the supporting-rails of the action. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my improved jack-rest, and Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively a bottom view and an end view of the jack-rest.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the hammer, and A the ham mer-shank, which latter is connected in the usual manner by a flange Ct to the hammer-rail B.

B is the hammer-rest, and B the rest-support, which latter is suported to a flange b on the action-rail B The hammer-rail B and the action-rail B are supported by the usual action'brackets, which are not shown in the drawings.

0 represents the repetition-lever, which is fulcrumed to a post 0', that rises from the rest-support B said support being actuated by an adjustable knob or button on the keylever L, as usual in grand actions.

E represents the jack, which is pivoted at e to the recessed front end of the rest-support B The upper end of the jack E projects through a slot in the repetition-lever O and bears against a knuckle a on the shank of the hammer A.

The jack E is provided at its lower end with the usual arrn E, which is brought in contact with an adjustable rest 6' when the rest-support B is lifted by the key-lever L.

The jack E is provided with a regulating screw D, which, instead of being engaged as heretofore by the well-known metal spoon, bears against a wooden jack-rest F, which is forked at its rear end and pivoted to the repe tition-lever O. The front portion or face of the jack-rest F is formed on a circular arc and provided with a central recess f, in which is arranged a transverse stirrup f, to which the upper arm 9 of a V-shaped regulatingspring G is applied. The lower arm of the V- shaped regulating-spring is connected with a stirrup f on the jack E, the apex of said spring being loosely supported on a pin of the post O, as shown in Fig. 1. The transverse stirrup f is attached to holes in the side walls of the jack-rest F, said side walls being further provided with openings f so that the proper connection of the upper arm g of the regulating-spring G with the stirrup f of the jack-rest F can be readily seen and controlled. The relative position of the jackrest F toward the jack and the repetition-1ever 0 is regulated by means of a screw f which passes through the repetition-lever, and by which the tension of the upper arm g of the regulating-spring G is regulated.

By regulating the jack-rest F by the screw 4 the spring-arm 9 can be set to various degrees of tension while affecting but slightly the tension of the lower arm g, which acts on the jack E. The tension of the lower springarm g, however, can be varied by attaching its stirrup to apoint higher or lower on the 1 jack E, it being attached at a greater distance from the pivot e of the jack for the treble action, while for the bass-action the stirrup is located nearer to the pivot e of the jack, as

shown, respectively, in dotted and full lines in Fig. 1.

The front end or face of the jack-rest is made in the shape of an arc of a circle of which its pivot is the center, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This has the advantage that the spring-arm g of the regulating-spring G can be regulated without changing the position of the jack E, the screw of which always bears on the arc-shaped face of the jack-rest whatever be the position to which the same is adjusted for regulating the tension of the upper arm gof the spring G. The construction described permits of the use of one regulatingspring for both the jack and the repetitionlever in place of two independent springs, which were used heretofore and connected separately with the jack and repetition-lever, respectively.

By the introduction of-a jackrest pivoted to the repetition-lever the construction of the grand action is greatly simplified and a very efiective and reliable repetition of the hammer obtained for the simple reason that the spring-arm connected to the jack-rest can be set to tension without affecting to any appreciable extent the spring-arm connected with the jack, while the change of position of the jack-rest, owing to the concentric face of the same, does not change in the least the relative position of the jack toward the jack-rest and repetition-lever.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Iatent 1. The combination, in a piano-action, with a fulcrumed repetition-lever and a jack, of a jack-rest pivoted to the repetition-lever, and a single V-shaped regulating-spring, one arm of which is connected to the jack-rest, While the other is connected to the jack, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a piano-action, with a fulcrumed repetitionlever and a jack, of a jack-rest pivoted at its rear-end to the repetition-lever and provided in its recessed frontend with a stirrup, and a single regulatingspring attached to a post of the rest-support and connected by one arm with a stirrup of the jack-rest and by its other arm with a stirrup on the jack, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a piano-action, with a fulcrumed repetition-lever and a jack, of a jack-rest pivoted at its rear-end to the repetition-lever, and formed on a circular are at the front-end or face concentric to its pivot, a regulating-screw for said jack-rest, and a single regulating-spring attached to the support of the repetition-lever, of which one arm is connected with the jack-rest and the other with the jack, substantially as set forth.

4- The combination, in a piano-action, with the repetition-lever, jack and rest-support, of a jack-rest pivoted at its rear-end to the repetition lever and provided with a recessed front-end or face formed on a circular arc, a stirrup in its recessed part and openings in the side-walls of said recessed part, and a single regulating-spring applied to a post on the rest-support, the upper arm of said spring being connected with the stirrup of the jackrest and the lower arm with a stirrup on the jack, substantially as set forth.

5. In a piano-action, a jack-rest, formed of a recessed rear-end, a recessed front-portion having a face formed on a circular arc and a transverse stirrup on the recessed front-portion, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN L. NOLL. Witnesses:

PAUL GoEPEL, GEORGE W. JAEKEL. 

